1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a welding helmet with a removable cartridge, and more particularly to a welding helmet for preventing fumes generated upon welding or cutting from directly flowing into the helmet as well as shutting off light generated upon welding or cutting.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, a helmet for welding has been used to protect the eyes of a worker in case of welding or cutting. A glare protector (hereinafter, referred as “cartridge”) is fixed to the helmet for protecting the eyes of the worker from intense injurious light generated during welding or cutting. The cartridge shuts off light in the wavelength range of 780 nm (IB) to 365 nm (UV) and controls transmitted quantity of the visible ray to allow the worker to ascertain welding position without glare.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,206 discloses a welding helmet including an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) lens positioned directly in front of a wearer for serving as an actual view window, a solar cell functioning as an energy input by absorbing light, an EQC (Electronic Quick Change) cartridge having photo sensor cells detecting sparks and other intense light and acting as an input to a circuit that automatically adjusts the LCD lens to a variable opaque condition, and a cartridge housing positioned within the helmet for securing the EQC cartridge within the helmet.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,264 discloses a welding helmet including a shutter mounted so that a helmet wearer may view welding operation, an electronic control connected for controlling a light transmission shade of the shutter, a photo sensor for detecting the bright light emanating from the welding operation, and electronic circuitry for changing the shade of the shutter to darken it in responsive to the photo sensor.
The above stated welding helmets are provided with a cartridge for automatically driving the shade of the LCD lens or the shutter to darken it in order to detect intense light generated during welding and protect the eyes of the worker from the intense light. However, such a cartridge has problems that it is not removably mounted to the welding helmet or not easily mounted to and removed from the welding helmet.
Further, the prior helmet with a removable cartridge has a problem that, since the engagement between the helmet body and the cartridge is not made sufficiently, fumes generated during welding or cutting directly flow into a gap between the helmet body and the cartridge, thereby mortally injuring a worker's health.